The present invention pertains generally to a truck mounted system for calculating the load carried by a trailer or tractor and trailer combination.
Efforts are found in the prior art directed toward providing a weighing system permanently in place on a vehicle to indicate the weight of a load placed thereon. For one or more reasons the use of such permanently mounted scale systems have not found wide acceptance with the trucking industry. It is still the usual practice to route loaded trucks to a weighing station to calculate load weight. Considerable time is lost when a truck operator must wait in line for such a weighing operation with additional time being lost if the truck is overloaded in which event a portion of the load must be removed back at a loading dock. Should an overload condition be detected at a governmental weighing station, an even further delay is encountered in view of it being necessary to partially unload the truck onto another truck at the site of the weighing station or return of the truck to a truck loading site for partial load removal. All of the foregoing complications contribute to the loss of time which could otherwise be spent in productive over-the-road travel.
A further problem encountered in the loading of trucks is the allocation of weight to axle which if improperly done, can necessitate the return of a truck to a loading site for shifting of a load so as to come within acceptable axle weight limits.